Moldovan Democrats to return to draft on uninominal voting system

Chisinau, 10 May /MOLDPRES/- The Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM) will not give up setting the uninominal system and will approach this issue after the 2018 elections, PDM leader Vlad Plahotniuc said today.

Plahotniuc said that the draft voted by MPs on 5 May represents a compromise, and PD intends to return to the implementation of the uninominal voting system until the 2022 elections.

“We, the Democratic Party, maintain our opinion on the uninominal voting system. I still believe that Moldovans are right when they say they want to elect their MPs directly, as mayors and president of the country are elected. It is their right and no one inside or outside the country can deprive of this right. After voting in 2018 according to the mixed system, citizens will immediately see the benefits of the uninominal vote and I am sure that during the 2022 elections, no politician will ever be able to block their right to vote directly. For this reason, PD does not give up the promotion of the uninominal system, now only a small step is made”, he said.

Plahotniuc noted that some representatives of the opposition are trying to put pressure on the experts of the Venice Commission. “The commission does not intervene in the sovereign right of the country to establish its electoral system. The commission experts come up with opinions that will strengthen the legality of this political reform”, he added.

On 5 May, the parliament approved in the first reading two drafts on the change of the electoral system in Moldova, the one on setting the uninominal vote proposed by the Democrats and the other on mixed vote proposed by Socialists. Subsequently, the parliamentary commission on rules and immunities announced merging of the two documents into one that will be based on the mixed electoral system. The proposal of the parliamentary committee was voted by 74 lawmakers, Liberals and Communists were absent from the voting procedure.

(Reporter A. Zara, editor L. Alcază)